Noah could remember the day the Ogre attacked him and Hallel like it was yesterday.They were on their regular scavenge for dinner, still children, when Noah heard something rummaging through the trash. Driven by hunger, bravado, and ignorance in thinking it was a rat, he had the bright idea to catch and eat it.He and Hallel ended up chasing the scurrying sound all the way to a part of the trash heap with almost no one else.Then, an Ogre with the head of a demon and the body of a toddler jumped out and bit Noah's left arm so hard that it almost ripped it clean off. But unfortunately for Noah, his brother, in a panicked mix of screams and tears, awakened to his unique magic in that moment.And with one wave of his hand and a powerful scream, Hallel wrung the Ogre like a wet towel, blood and all, killing it instantly.In front of them…Hallel was taken because of that damned Ogre that left a nasty scar on Noah's left arm.“Slumrat!“ Red Jacket yelled, pinned under a wyvogre: a ten-f

Noah choked on the blood being forced down his throat. His teammates—all headless corpses—surrounded him, holding him in a bear hug, preventing him from moving. One of them grabbed his hair and pulled it back, another pinched his nose, while a third squeezed his jaw so he couldn't keep it closed. Hovering above him, holding its bleeding fist over Noah's mouth with a wide grin plastered across its face was the Ogre. Noah's heart pounded against his chest as he struggled. The grip of his teammates didn't falter. He found it harder and harder to breathe.As Noah locked eyes with the Ogre, its grin widened. Blood continued to gush from its hand like a faucet had been cranked to the max. Noah gasped for air, but blood washed down his throat instead.The Ogre grinned even more.The light in Noah's eyes started to dim; his eyes became slits; he was losing consciousness.“You should be grateful,” It said. “If you survive this, your pathetic life will be over.“ It squeezed its fist even ha

Noah watched the clock tick down with panic coursing through his veins.“No,” he muttered, pacing. “No no no no no no no no…” he ran his hands through his hair again. “No!“ he screamed, clutching his head. “I just got magic… I just survived… I can't… this can't…” he stopped and stared at the endless stretch beneath him. “Fuck!“What the heck was even wrong with that stupid king!? This wasn't the first bad decision he'd made as a ruler. He's been making awful decisions since even before Noah was born. Inevitable when you've been king for over a thousand years.“Codex!“ Noah said, trying to calm himself. “How long have I been here!?“[Total time elapsed in current inhabited space: 1 hour, 1 minute, and 33 seconds]Noah sighed briefly. That meant all that time he spent waiting here that felt like hours weren't actually hours passing by. “How the hell do I get out of here?“ If he wanted any hope of getting back to Eden with an Ogre's head, then he needed to leave this place immediately.

Noah lay there, bleeding, desperate, staring at the runic text with blood and flesh in his mouth.[Recommended action: Swallow]His entire body stung; his arms were too tired to move. He glanced at the timer. Twenty minutes and fifty-nine seconds.He thought back to the first meal he'd ever enjoyed. It hadn't been too many years after Hallel was born.Noah hadn't eaten for days because he'd been caught stealing some of Reggie's and Cynthia's money to run away. They chained the then six-year-old Noah to a metal beam not far from their house and left him there to teach him a lesson.Just when Noah thought he'd starve to death, four-year-old Hallel appeared, with two cream puffs in hand. Something he'd managed to get by stealing Cynthia's and Reggie's money.And he gave them both to Noah and gave him some rainwater he'd gotten from a puddle not far away, all with a stupid grin on his face.That cream puff tasted like heaven. It's the best thing he'd ever had in his whole life.And this

Noah raced through the forest as fast as his feet would take him, dodging tree roots and rocks like his life depended on it.Because it did.He'd been running nonstop for four minutes and sixteen seconds, meaning he was almost there. Almost at Eden. He could see the giant walls that surrounded the last bastion of humanity in the distance.Sweat poured down his face as ragged breaths escaped his mouth.The explosion from that last attack on the cyclogre left him with minor burns on his arm and chest. Those injuries automatically healed as he ran with the bargogre's head in tow.But all that healing drained his stamina.He was running on fumes.The only thing that kept him going was his will to live.“C'mon, Noah,” he said, seeing the sun peek beyond the horizon. He glanced at the timer.One minute and forty-six seconds left to live.Noah's heart rammed against his chest. His feet moved even quicker.Then it came into view.It was as massive as it always was. A nearly two-kilometre-thic